Research and Analysis - McFly Digipak

 Front cover

The front cover of the digipak shows all four band members in TV screens. Dougie at the top centre TV screen, Tom in the middle left TV screen, Harry in the middle right box and Danny in the bottom centre. The band name and album in the middle centre. The fact that the band members pictures are on the cover may bring in more potential purchases because some people may not recognise the band name but may recognise the band members. Therefore if they see the band on the front of the album they be may more likely to buy the album.  The fact that the band name and album title is in the centre of the cover is effective, because when on the shelves in a store, it is the first thing that will attract the customer. Therefore if someone is looking for the McFly album, it will make it easy to spot. It will also be effective because if someone is just browsing it will attract their attention because of the large bold font in the centre. The TV screens all show a black and white photo with a green tint to them. This colour scheme is used throughout the digipak. The colour scheme along side the grill mic give a retro feel to the digipak. However the colour scheme matches that of the title 'Radio Active', the green glow gives the feel of the album actually being radio active.

Inside

The inside of the digipak matches the colour scheme of the front cover. The grill mics are also once again seen on the inside of the digipak, once again giving the album a retro feel. This album comes with a DVD showing the making of the album as well as the promotion of the album. The fact that the album comes with a DVD could result in the sale of the album increasing, as people may feel they are getting more for their money, and therefore maybe more likely to buy the album. The album and DVD both follow the same theme, however they are contrasting. The CD has a black grill mic on a green background with black text however the DVD has a green grill mic on a black background with green text. This shows that they are still connected even though they are different media formats.The inside of the digipak also comes with a pouch, where the tour dates for the Radio Active tour is kept and a booklet containing lyrics, pictures and messages from the band members.

The Booklet

The front of the booklet fits into the theme of the rest of the digipak, as it has the black grill mic on the cover, and there is the green background as well as the zigzag lines which can be found on the inside of the digipak. The cover also has the band name and album title on the booklet cover. However rather being in black like on the front of the cover of the digipak, it is in black, the font of the text is still the same as that on the cover of the digipak. The booklet consists of lyrics, pictures and personal messages from the band members. The theme of the booklet is kept the same throughout and this matches the rest of the digipak, as the green glow and retro feel is present throughout. This booklet makes the audience feel close to the band, as there are personal thank you messages from each band member. Also the way the booklet it set out gives it a personal fell. For example, the way the lyrics are put into the booklet, make it look like the band members have written the lyrics into the booklet themselves. It gives it the personal feel because it has words crossed out, and arrows going between the verses and there are notes written around the lyrics. Also on the pictures surrounding the lyrics there are doodles, which look as if the band members have drawn them on, this all adds to the personal feeling the album brings to the audience.  The pictures within the booklet also give the audience an incite of what it is like be within McFly, once again adding a personal touch to the album. Majority of the pictures within the booklet look to be pictures from a holiday the band went on together whilst recording the album, as most of the pictures, show the band members joking around with each other around a campfire and on the beach. Only a few of the pictures look to be as if they are done on a photo shoot  This allows the audience to see the band members personality come out through pictures which fans don't often get access to. Therefore makes the audience feel personally connected to the band as they gain an incite into life within the band.

The personal thank you messages from each one of the band members are at the back of the booklet. Each band member has a double page spread, one page for their photo and the other for their thank you message. The message is person from each band member there this once again brings out their personality, as each band member has a different approach to their thank you message, even though they are basically saying the same thing. Each band members takes their time to thank their fans, this is personal to the fans as it makes them feel as if they have played a part in McFly's success.

Outside 

The outside of the digipak, once again follows the colour scheme of the black and the green glow. The track list is in a TV screen just like the images on the cover of the digipak. Underneath the track list there is also a section which shows what is on the DVD which comes with the digipak. The TV which the listings are shown on is a old styled TV, which once again adds to the retro feeling which is trying to be created. The digipak also consists of a picture panel, which when the digipak is folded up, covers the CD and DVD. this picture panel shows all four band members stood against a wall, this time in a choreographed way, compared to the pictures within the booklet. The band name is clearly displayed at the top of the picture panel in a bold black text with a green glow round the outside once again fitting into the theme throughout the rest of the digipak. The grill mic is also in the top corners of the picture panel along side the staggered lines across the picture which add to the retro feel of the panel. The positioning of the band members on the picture panel, show Tom, the lead singer stood slightly in front of the other three band members, he is also looking directly into the camera, whereas the other band members are looking away from the camera. The positioning of the mid shot, makes Tom stand out in comparison to the other band members, however it does not totally cast the the others out completely, they are still in focus and central of the image. The body language of the band members is relaxed, all four of the members have their hands in their pockets and stood quite slouched. This represents them as relaxed and that they don't take themselves too seriously, which is an image they portray when taking part in interviews of TV promotion, which supports Dyer's theory of stardom, that the image of a star is represented through different media.

Font

Throughout the digipak, a simple text is used. This makes it easy for the audience to read. However to make the font more interesting throughout the digipak a glow effect has been added. This glow compliments the images and the theme of the digipak well. Throughout the digipak font in central of the panels. This means it easily grabs the attention of the audience.